Was the council right to close the road?

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"I live by the university entrance on Oxstalls Lane and the amount of large lorries steaming from the site past our houses is awful, no consideration for the residents at all."

This twitter user was incandescent with rage: "Absolute joke @GlosRoads worst decision! To save some local people cutting through now made the whole situation worse! Gridlock down Church Road, unable to see kids walking out from behind parked cars and cars queued from one end to the other!"

Rydal Road in Longlevens

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While this man was also highly critical of the council's decision: “Absolutely ludicrous decision. In "protecting" Rydal road (100m long) you have forced all the combined traffic of Oxstalls Lane and now Wellsprings Road down Windermere Road and Church Road - past Longlevens Junior School.”

Another man added: “Reopen Rydal Road to stop hundreds of young and vulnerable people at risk. 300yards of increased traffic on Wellsprings and Rydal or utter chaos on Church Road and surrounding residential roads.”

The Cheltenham Road/Oxstalls Lane junction that needs remodelling

What the county council is saying

A spokesperson for Gloucestershire County Council said: “A decision was made to close Rydal Road to through traffic, following a number of traffic collisions and near misses in the area over recent weeks due to people using the road as a short cut to avoid the road closure outside the university on Oxstalls Lane.

"A diversion is in place and we will continue to monitor the situation with the police and review as necessary.”

And in response to more criticism on Friday morning, the council took to twitter again.

It said: "The decision to close Rydal Road to through traffic was made to ensure the safety of road users and residents.

"We appreciate the inconvenience this has caused but as always our priority has to be people’s safety. We are continually monitoring the area."

What do you think of the closure? Contact us at citizen.news@glosmedia.co.uk or via Facebook and twitter.

Why is Oxstalls Lane closed at the junction with Cheltenham Road?

The junction is closed for the next eight months while roadworks take place.

Road crews will be working on a cluster of underground cables and infrastructure to improve traffic flow at the junction of Oxstalls and Cheltenham Road.

Gloucester City Council attached a condition on the planning consent for the University of Gloucestershire Business School at Oxstalls that the university would fund and procure contractors to carry out the junction improvement works.

The work takes place at where Oxstalls Lane meet Cheltenham Road and continues until Wednesday, March 13.

(Image: Kevin Fern Photography Ltd)

It will mean that motorists will have to head through Longford if coming from the city centre, off Longford Lane if coming from Cheltenham .

The new huge business school is home to a business, marketing, human resource management and accounting and finance course.

The university wants to build student halls of up to 200 beds on the former Debenhams playing field off Estcourt Road.

The halls would be separated into two three-storey blocks and another two-storey building.

(Image: Kevin Fern Photography Ltd)

University bosses claim it will bring in at least 2,000 more students to Gloucester and increase the skilled workforce, innovation and enterprise in city and county.

Each block would have adjoining bedrooms and a lounge and kitchen at the end, with laundry facilities on the ground floor. The plans also include landscaping and a network of pathways linking up the site.

The planning application has been hit back-and-forth between councillors and the university since July 2016.

(Image: Kevin Fern Photography Ltd)

What’s the diversion?

From Cheltenham: Instead of driving along Cheltenham Road and turning into Oxstalls Lane, you will need to turn into Old Cheltenham Road at the traffic lights on Cheltenham Road, drive along Church Road and turn left onto Oxstalls Lane at the crossroads. The Growth Hub will then be on your right, before the closed junction.

From Gloucester: Instead of using Estcourt Road, it will be easier to travel along Longford Lane and turn right into Oxstalls Lane. The Growth Hub will then be on your right, before the closed junction.